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Jerry,
Your question can be answered, I think, like this: either
way, you will be screwed or handsomely rewarded, and it ALL
depends on who you hire. It doesn’t matter if the job is
bid or you pay the contractor/carpenter by the hour. What
matters is if you find someone who knows how to build a good
house, and cares about it and hopefully you, but don’t count
on that.
You said yourself that you don’t know much about building a
house. That says a lot, and you will have to make up for
this by doing serious research, especially asking about area
carpenters. Do you have a site yet? Do you have plans
drawn, and if so, who drew them?
The right person will have input on practically everything,
and you will want to remain flexible on materials, methods
and subcontractors until you find out who and what the
builder likes to work with. It’s a team effort, and
everything is connected to everything else. Things can go
smooth or bad, depends a lot on the various relationships
and attitudes.
Back to the question. I think if you want the house built a
lot better than average, if you can find an experienced
“craftsman” and pay by the hour, you’ll get a well-built
house. It’ll cost you more, though.
Are you SURE you want to be the GC? A lot will depend on
you.
Good Luck,
Mad Dog
xxxxxxxxx
Replies
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Jerry,
Your question can be answered, I think, like this: either
way, you will be screwed or handsomely rewarded, and it ALL
depends on who you hire. It doesn't matter if the job is
bid or you pay the contractor/carpenter by the hour. What
matters is if you find someone who knows how to build a good
house, and cares about it and hopefully you, but don't count
on that.
You said yourself that you don't know much about building a
house. That says a lot, and you will have to make up for
this by doing serious research, especially asking about area
carpenters. Do you have a site yet? Do you have plans
drawn, and if so, who drew them?
The right person will have input on practically everything,
and you will want to remain flexible on materials, methods
and subcontractors until you find out who and what the
builder likes to work with. It's a team effort, and
everything is connected to everything else. Things can go
smooth or bad, depends a lot on the various relationships
and attitudes.
Back to the question. I think if you want the house built a
lot better than average, if you can find an experienced
"craftsman" and pay by the hour, you'll get a well-built
house. It'll cost you more, though.
Are you SURE you want to be the GC? A lot will depend on
you.
Good Luck,
Mad Dog
xxxxxxxxx
*
Jerry, When Mad Dog asks if you are Sure you want to be the GC, he is very serious. The GC part of the job can be likened to the conductor of an orchestra. You can take all the talented individual musicians and with a good conductor you should be able to produce a beautiful symphony. Or with a poor or unattentive conductor you can take those same great musicians and have a big bunch of noise. The general contractor directs the building project. He has the tools necessary to pull all the trades together. The GC keeps the trades showing up in the proper order and deals with any unplanned surprises. Many times quick thinking will mean on schedule and in budget.
This is not to say you cannot be the GC, it is just to stress the importance of the job. You may get lucky in finding someone you can rely on to help you along. But also remember that if you do the auditioning and hiriing for the band, you may be mixing some people who have never played together. This is going to take some pretty good talent and probably a little patience.
One more thing, you may find that as you pull prices from the various subs, you may be getting a higher price that you expect. This may be because they are familiar with having the homeowner act as GC. They know there will be some misplaning and time wasted and will bid accordingly. Best of luck.
*lazyj42 (Jerry) I read your post 2x, and i didn't see the most important part. Your plans ! There are a lot of good Contractors out there and if you go the GC route, you should ask around at the local LUMBER yard, the hdw store, your electricain, etc. But watch out for the Brother -in -law, or the Cousin. Get a long list of 10, and then research those, and without calling them get it down to 3 and then call them and talk to them. ASK for REFERENCES. But back to the important part, you know the conductor analogy is a good one for the GC, so what is he working off of......his sheet music......the plans and specs for your dream house. Do you have them yet. Are they modified for YOU and YOUR WIFE ? Are they site specific ? or just a nice plan from a plan book. The plans are the easiest part to get right, and the cheapest. There are services out there now that can draw your plans in 3d and give you a guided tour of your home and do WHAT IFS. Sometimes the Builder and the Designer are both the same person, and that MAY be the one you are looking for.If you really want to be the GC, find the right guy , and hire him / her and their carpenters. Have them get it weathertight. With siding, windows and doors, roofing and trim.They can also advise you on your subs and your sequencing.The Assistant GC (your hired gun) knows all the good subs, and the good supply houses. He knows wether you want to shop price, or quality and service. He knows which elec. is not only going to wire your house but be your elec. as long as you own the house.I figure there are two types of people (consumers), those that shop for price and those that shop for relationships. What kind are you ? Well that's the kind of Builder / Assistant GC you want. Get your plans done and redone, this is your retirement house, its your LAST house, get it right. Find a good Builder and work with him on the final draft of your plans.b Keep your powder dry and keep smilin'
*Gerry, what area of Washington are you building in?-jim
*Lazyj42,( If you're only 42 you're to young to retire) . Call Jim "crazylegs blodgett/ "I'm not a Texan"/ "Young Bob" Blodgett, he's in Washington State ( surely it's not as big as Texas ).Only if you are looking for a craftsman mind ( Jim stop blushing ).You should be able to get him for around $65.00 per hour. Jim, send me $15/hour finders fee ( and make sure you keep acurate records of your hours ).
*
LOL
Mark, you know that Jim works for the love of the job!
MD
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Wow, good info by all. I'll try to address some of the issues. I already own the property in Colville Washington, which is about 75 miles north of Spokane. The plans for the house are currently being drawn up by a draftsman locally. The house is rectangular and not fancy so I felt that we did not need an arcitect. I have touched base with surveyer, in the area, who will do a topo for me if needed.. May need an engineer for part of the construction (we are building on mildly slopeing ground). Since I will be new to the area, I will have to rely on word of mouth, references, and observation; no matter how I decide to handle the bidding process. It appears the answer to my question is to find an experienced and dedicated group of pros.
I realize that my idea will be a challenge but I gotta try it. Thanks all for you thoughts..Jerry
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LOL
Mark, you know that Jim works for the love of the job!
MD
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That's enough you two! I can overschedule myself very competently without your "help"!
I have always heard Colville is a nice area though. I'm sure you will be able to find good help over there Jerry. I would be interested to hear how deep your well goes. I've heard of some 800 ft deep with two pumps in the Yakima area.
*I find it amazing that most people underrate the value and experiance that a GC brings to the job. Besides being an orchestrator of the job, he has working knowledge of all aspects of the build,crafts,materials, and can define well in advance if a serious mistake or costly change is about to accure. Schedualing, job progess, and sub-contractor relations are also a part of the package. What about the ability to understand all aspects of your drawings? Can you determine, in your desire to by the material, if you are getting the best product & price for the job? Good GC's also represent the interests of the homeowner, who will represent you? How about insurance,liability,warranty? Good GC's are every bit a profession and they earn their pay.Sorry if I'm venting, good luck on your new house. Bill Swales
*Hi lazy42, Do your homework. Ask questions here and elsewere. And for goddness sakes if you find a contractor that your gut feeling says will do the job right, have the flexibility to work with them. Conversely if your intuition says your not sure, keep them on a short leash if you must work with them to attain your goals.Joe
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Let's call it what it really is Jerry "owner-builder" not GC! I personally have never seen an owner-builder project that worked. Even with owners who have taken up to 2 years to educate themselves in methodology of the construction trades before starting thier project. By hiring a (good) GC you hire an enormous amount of knowledge and experience that most homeowners take for granted until they find themselves in the middle of a project that is unorganized, unorchestrated, behind schedule and over budget. I'm not trying to discourage you (well I guess I am) from taking on the project yourself but I've seen this scenario too many times. Hire a good GC and build your "Dream" house not your "Nightmare" house! Good Luck!
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In about 18 months, I plan to have my retirement home built. Since I will be retired, my wife and I plan to be actively involved in the project. We plan to act at the "General" and sub out the majority of the work. (I have already read about the pros and cons of my grand idea). I will be building in a small county in Washington State. It seems that there are no large construction companies in the area. The general contractors are carpenters who have obtained their license and who still do a lot of the work themselves rather than subing everything out.
I have very little knowledge of building a house. I plan to purchase most of the materials myself (this prevents liens you know) then hire the pro's to do the work. I'll be the go'fer. Since this project will hopefully my dream house, I would like quality work. Even though my budget is not open ended, I am willing to pay for craftsmen.
Now to my question..Since I am purchasing the building materials my self, would it be wiser to approach the bid from an hourly wage standpoint or should I bid out a particular job, ie, cost of enclosing the house, cost of roofing, finish work etc. Again, I do not mind paying for quality work. My thought with the two approaches is that a pro working for a wage may do a better job than someone pressured to get the job done with his bid. What do ya think. Thanks all. Jerry